Monthly Archives: October 2007

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Hollywood star, former senator, and would-be president Fred Thompson campaigned in California Tuesday, where he proudly announced the endorsement of the state’s most important Republican.

No, not Arnold. State Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks.

Gov. Schwarzenegger might have the celebrity, the top job, and the better overall approval ratings, but when it comes to the party faithful who will be casting votes in the February primary, McClintock carries much more influence. Unlike Arnold, he’s seen as a solid conservative, one whose values and priorities are more in line with the average California Republican. Tellingly, Thompson claims he hasn’t even sought an endorsement from Schwarzenegger, but he did lobby to get one from McClintock — Schwarzenegger’s toughest critic, left or right. Thompson’s Sacramento campaign stop also featured various other top GOP legislators who have fought to thwart the efforts of both Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats these last few months.

Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger has yet to endorse anyone, although John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani have all reportedly sought his support. Giuliani would be a natural choice, being a fellow hands-on, flamboyant executive with liberal leanings. But it’s not certain that Schwarzenegger’s support would actually help him.

Although still in first place nationally and across the state, the former New York mayor has seen his numbers gradually shrink over the last few months. In California and elsewhere, it seems, the more Republicans get to know Giuliani, the less they like him. Among the party faithful, the endorsement of a less than reliably conservative politician like Arnold could possibly do more harm than good.

Apparently that’s how Thompson sees it, anyway.

As for Arnold, he might just decide the best way to help his fellow Republicans in 2008 is to hold his endorsement until after the primaries.

That along with “Leave Britney Alone” are the two phrases that seem to have stuck in the public’s mind, or at least in the minds of the Daily News editorial department. You can buy t-shirts and bumper stickers with the saying. But will it have the staying power of “Where’s the beef?” or “It’s the economy, stupid” and “Hasta la vista, baby”? We hope so, because “don’t taze me, bro” is so rich in potential usages.

The ongoing battle in New York over granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants spillled into national politics last night at the Democratic candidates’ debate. The following excerpt from the transcript is highly amusing — and telling, too:

Tim Russert: Senator Clinton, Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer has proposed giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. He told the Nashua, New Hampshire, Editorial Board it makes a lot of sense.

Why does it make a lot of sense to give an illegal immigrant a driver’s license?

Hillary Clinton: Well, what Governor Spitzer is trying to do is fill the vacuum left by the failure of this administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform. We know in New York we have several million at any one time who are in New York illegally. They are undocumented workers. They are driving on our roads. The possibility of them having an accident that harms themselves or others is just a matter of the odds. It’s probability.

So what Governor Spitzer is trying to do is to fill the vacuum. I believe we need to get back to comprehensive immigration reform because no state, no matter how well intentioned, can fill this gap. There needs to be federal action on immigration reform.

Russert: Does anyone here believe an illegal immigrant should not have a driver’s license? …

Clinton: Well, I just want to add, I did not say that it should be done, but I certainly recognize why Governor Spitzer is trying to do…

Chris Dodd: No, no, no. You said — you said yes…

Clinton: No.

Dodd: … you thought it made sense to do it.

Clinton: No, I didn’t, Chris. But the point is, what are we going to do with all these illegal immigrants who are driving …

Russert: Senator Clinton, I just want to make sure of what I heard. Do you, the New York senator, Hillary Clinton, support the New York governor’s plan to give illegal immigrants a driver’s license?

You told the New Hampshire paper that it made a lot of sense. Do you support his plan?

Clinton: You know, Tim, this is where everybody plays “gotcha.” It makes a lot of sense. What is the governor supposed to do? He is dealing with a serious problems. We have failed. And George Bush has failed. Do I think this is the best thing for any governor to do? No. But do I understand the sense of real desperation, trying to get a handle on this? Remember, in New York, we want to know who’s in New York. We want people to come out of the shadows.

He’s making an honest effort to do it. We should have passed immigration reform.

Williams: New subject, Senator Edwards….

John Edwards: … I want to add something that Chris Dodd just said a minute ago, because I don’t want it to go unnoticed. Unless I missed something, Senator Clinton said two different things in the course of about two minutes just a few minutes ago. …

Williams: Senator Obama, why are you nodding your head?

Barack Obama: Well, I was confused on Senator Clinton’s answer. I can’t tell whether she was for it or against it….

So, to recap: Hillary Clinton first affirmed her comment that licensing illegal immigrants “makes a lot of sense.” Then she denied it. Then she affirmed it again. All in a matter of minutes.

Meanwhile, it’s all George W. Bush’s fault. (Because, you know, Bill Clinton did so much to reform immigration when he was president.)

That’s what I’ll be doing Wednesday Nov. 28 at the Armand Hammer Museum when I host a panel discussion on the Valley’s porn industry, called “Dirty Business: Should the Porn Industry Be Saved?” The idea came after the Daily News published a series on the Valley’s porn business, which you can find online here.

One of the more popular parts of the series was the map of porn studios in the Valley, and it got me thinking that people are really interested in knowing more about this huge but mostly shunned industry in LA. I wish I could link the map for you, but the weird way we’ve done the online package means I can’t find a link. You’ll just have to poke through the series (which is still ongoing) and read for yourself. I’m also not posting a photo for this because I don’t want to be accused of looking for porn on the company computer.

Here’s some more info about the event.

Moderated by Mariel Garza of the Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles’ dirty little economic secret is its $12-billion-a-year pornography industry, located primarily in the San Fernando Valley. Competition from amateur porn on the Internet, piracy and other pressures are cutting into profits. The question is: Should we care? How much should the industry’s health risks weigh against its economic value? And how important is the issue of morality when we’re talking about jobs, sales receipts, and tax dollars? Zcalo brings together a panel of expertsporn producers and former actors Nina Hartley and Ira Levine, economist Jack Kyser, and Sharon Mitchell of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation – to discuss whether or not L.A.’s porn industry is a boon or a burden.

Click here to find out more about the lecture series and to reserve your FREE seat for this exciting panel.

I’ve just sent a message to the folks at CBS-2, begging them to let their audience see the match-up of the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts this weekend. It seems like a no-brainer to me — the two best and only undefeated teams in the league, vying for #1status. But CBS-2 tends to coddle the social misfits known as “Raider fans” who heavily populate these parts, and as such will often show a dreadful Raider game no matter how badly the team is doing, or who else is playing.

The network has yet to announce its decision, so I just sent in the following beg:

Please, please, please show the New England-Indianapolis football game this weekend! This is a historic match-up of two undefeated teams!

I beg of you, please do not inflict Houston-Raiders on your viewers. These two teams combined do not have as many wins as either the Patriots OR the Colts.

There is no home team in the Los Angeles market. So please show us the best game — not a lousy one just because one of the two teams used to play here more than a decade ago.

This week’s Pats-Colts match-up may be the most watched game of the regular season. Please let your audience see it.

If you are someone who prefers good football to the atrocious variety, I urge you to send a note of your own. Thanks!

(Now back to our regular Friendly Fire programming.)

** UPDATE 11/1, 9:36 AM — Just talked to the good folks at KCBS-2, who report that this Sunday they will be showing … Patriots-Colts. Oh happy day!

Just in time for Halloween comes this photo taken by a hunter’s camera last month, set up on a tree with an automatic trigger in Pennsylvania. The hunter was aiming to photograph deer, but snapped this thing instead. Sasquatch groupies claim it’s a teenage Bigfoot. Game officials claim it’s a bear with a bad case of mange. I think it’s the first filmmaker who disappeared in “The Blair Witch Project” — with a bad case of mange.